New International Version
Isaiah 13:8
8Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.
Isaiah 13:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
- New Living Translation (NLT)and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear.
Context of Isaiah 13:8
6Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. 7Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. 9See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. 10The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
Read all of Isaiah 13Isaiah 13:8 word by word
וְֽנִבְהָ֓לוּ׀ צִירִ֤ים וַֽחֲבָלִים֙ יֹֽאחֵז֔וּן כַּיּוֹלֵדָ֖ה יְחִיל֑וּן אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ יִתְמָ֔הוּ פְּנֵ֥י לְהָבִ֖ים פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And they shall be afraidבָּהַלbâhal · to dismayH926
- pangsצִירtsîyr · pangH6735
- and sorrowsחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
- shall take holdאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
- of them; they shall be in painחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
- as a woman that travailethיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- they shall be amazedתָּמַהּtâmahh · to astoundedH8539
- oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- at anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
- their facesפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- flamesלַ֫הַבlahab · flameH3851
Cross-references for Isaiah 13:8
- Isaiah 21:3At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.
- Isaiah 26:17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.
- Psalms 48:5they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.
- Jeremiah 30:6Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?
- Jeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Daniel 5:5Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- Joel 2:6At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.
- Nahum 2:10She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale.
Commentaries on Isaiah 13:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8And they shall be afraid "And they shall be terrified" - I join this verb, ונבהלו venibhalu, to the preceding verse, with the Syriac and Vulgate. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold on them "Pangs shall seize them" - The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read יאחזום yochezum, instead of יאחזון yochezun, which does not express the pronoun then, necessary to the sense.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth - This comparison is often used in the Scriptures to denote the deepest possible pain and sorrow, as well as the suddenness with which any calamity comes upon a people Psalm 48:6; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9-10; John 16:21; Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3. They shall be amazed one at another - They shall…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-18Verses 6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of governments. God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8writhe like a woman in labor: The day of the Lord brings sudden and overpowering pain and fear for the wicked (see also Jeremiah 30:6; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9, 10; 5:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. pangs--The Hebrew means also a "messenger." Horsley, therefore, with the Septuagint translates, "The heralds (who bring word of the unexpected invasion) are terrified." Maurer agrees with English Version, literally, "they shall take hold of pangs and sorrows." woman ... travaileth--(1Th 5:3). amazed--the stupid, bewildered gaze of consternation. faces ... flames--"their visages have the livid hue of flame" [Horsley]; with anguish and indignation.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 13:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries